Kansas State’s Skylar Thompson Looks to Regain Mojo He Left in Stillwater

When discussing a matchup with Kansas State, the quarterback position is always at the forefront of the conversation. They rarely have elite passers behind center, but they constantly give Oklahoma State fits.

So, ahead of the Cowboys’ road trip to the Little Apple, let’s take a look at the presumed starting QBs and how the first half of their seasons stack up.

QB2B

Att

Comp

Pct.

Yds

Yds/Att

TD

INT

Rating

QBR

Cornelius

192

117

60.9%

1830

9.5

16

6

162.3

75.4

Thompson

110

62

56.4%

750

6.8

5

3

123.2

60.5

I should note that the subject of the last quarterback preview I wrote, lasted all of one series and three plays before Johnny Manziel Brock Purdy spelled him and led the Cyclones to an upset win in Stillwater.

So, I thought I’d go to the source and see what insight I could get from Bill Snyder before I made the same mistake twice.

This baffles me. Bill Snyder is asked questions about Skylar Thompson and Alex Delton and Snyder responds with "You write what the hell you want to write." #KStateFBpic.twitter.com/lvqk2zK2tf

The Cowboys are familiar with Thompson who, on his trip to Stillwater last fall, became the latest in a line of mediocre QBs to look like a Heisman candidates against OSU. Thompson threw for what was a career-high 204 yards and three TDs inside BPS and he did so on just 13 attempts with not interceptions. He’s yet to reach that 76.9 percent completion rate since.

The Wildcats have employed a two-headed QB attack all year up until their game in Waco last week. Dual-threat option Alex Delton missed the Baylor game with injury and appears like he won’t dress for Homecoming on Saturday.

Note: I purposefully left out third-string QB, John Holcomb II, the 6-foot-4 256-pound walking wildcat (formation not mascot), so as to not jinx the Pokes for Saturday. Whoops.

Thompson didn’t exactly post a perfect stat line on his own against Baylor on Saturday. He went 15 of 26 for 149 yards and one TD to two INTs. But the Wildcats offense did seem to thrive, posting its highest yards-per-play numbers for the year and 34 points in a nail-biting loss. If that tells us anything, Thompson will probably be named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.

Snyder says they might not run Skylar as much without Delton available, “but we have to have that phase of the game.” #KStateFB

There will be some quarterback run game. It’s a Bill Snyder staple. Whether they utilize Thompson as a dual threat or line up an extra offensive linemen under center, we will see it. And it will be frustratingly successful against OSU’s defense. Pencil that in with death and taxes.